Winter Rust 2025 : BALR - Bolt Action Light Rifle

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FocusedADD@reddit

Do you reckon it'd hold zero better with an aluminum upper butchered to fit?

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I'd assume so, but would make it a fair be heavier. I think the only reason the pa6 upper failed was due to me not annealing it. I did anneal the petcf upper but I think I shouldn't have done so, as it only seems to have made the bolt track a bit tight

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Automatic-Action-270@reddit

Hey Nopel! so sorry to bother bud, but what's your preferred annealing method? I'm trying to get into Fiberon this year.

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NopeNotRightNow@reddit (OP)

Hey man no worries-- I've not done much annealing overall so the only method I've tried is packing the part in sand a popping it in the oven for however long it said on the box. The sand did a good job of controlling a slow ramp up/down of the part. There wasn't any noticeable warping that I could tell, but it did make everything feel just a bit tight so I think everything seemed to sortof shrink just a touch, but not necessarily in a way that I think could have been accounted for/scaled up beforehand. Really it just amounted to a bit more effort to hand fit the parts together but it wasn't so much that it made the part unusable.

For PETCF specifically though I don't think it'd be worth it to anneal, as the difference in creep before/after annealing is negligible unlike with PA6 and such

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Automatic-Action-270@reddit

thanks for your time!

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Ok_Expression_1226@reddit

Just wanted to follow up on this. What kind of accuracy are we seeing in the beta with PET-CF? Did it resolve itself with a bigger test base?

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NopeNotRightNow@reddit (OP)

Not sure for specifically petcf, but i know a fellow just recently was getting 1.5 moa with his 16 in. build (pa6cf i think*)

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AverageWhiteEnjoyer@reddit

This is honestly a thing of beauty. It's like the perfect storm of Vintorez and Mini Fix.

Straight pull is really optimizing the heavy market of AR bolts and barrels. If this project keeps going, I'd love to follow it.

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NopeNotRightNow@reddit (OP)

Aye thanks man. Files for it are released now on my Odysee. I think next up for it, aside from a left-hand parts, is going to attempt a 9mm version that another fellow had mentioned may be possible using certain components.

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AverageWhiteEnjoyer@reddit

What a coincidence. I happen to be a lefty and was discussing with a friend of mine the ability to switch it over to left-handed.

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NopeNotRightNow@reddit (OP)

Ayy hell yeah, you love to hear it; what printer did you go with?

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AverageWhiteEnjoyer@reddit

Buddy of mine prints a lot for work and at home. He recommended the Elegoo Centauri Carbon since Im new to printing and need a but of a learning curve.

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NopeNotRightNow@reddit (OP)

Very nice, I've heard good things about those machines

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GlawkInMahRari@reddit

This is so damn cool

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GunnitRust@reddit

Tier II, Added

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crafty_waffle@reddit

How's extraction feel, anyway?

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NopeNotRightNow@reddit (OP)

For extraction I won't say its always the smoothest pull, but I've not had it feel stuck/or hard to pull back.

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NopeNotRightNow@reddit (OP)

This is a project I'd been working on for a while. It is a straight-pull bolt action that uses AR15 barrels, bolts (minus carrier) and trigger packs.

The intent of the design originally was to be something of a "The Fix we have at home" type of thing, but attempting a true bolt action proved to be hard to do in a way that would be safe to fire, so went with a straight-pull design instead. The upper receiver has two very small ball bearings to make contact with the bolt carrier in an effort to make the action feel smooth.

The uppers are swapable to allow for multiple calibers, with different handguard lengths and types, as well as a few different stock and/or brace types.

Total weight of the gun can vary depending on parts, but it can be made to be very light. The first iteration I'd built was 4.1 pounds with a 16in. pencil barrel.

Groupings and accuracy overall have been inconsistent so far. One example of the gun I put together in PA6-CF shot \~2.5 in groups on average, while another build in PETCF using the same hardware shot close to 5 in. groups.

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acamk37@reddit

Poor accuracy due to flex? Could the accuracy be helped by instead of a printed trunnion, a metal one? The plates in picture 8 printed? Maybe they could be metal too? And/or metal stock to stiffen things...sort of like an internal chassis that the printed parts slide over?

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NopeNotRightNow@reddit (OP)

There are some SCS plates and a couple pins to help keep the barrel stable, but overall I don't think the inaccuracy is necessarily due to flexing of the upper. The barrel is very solidly mounted in the PETCF upper, even more so than the nylon upper was. I almost suspect that the nylon upper may have had just a bit more* flex, as it seems generally that PETCF is considered a more rigid material than CFNylon, and I wonder if that bit more flexibility of the CFNylon may have allowed the upper receiver to absorb the barrel whip a bit better and let the barrel settle into a more consistent resting position after each shot.

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Next_Ad3398@reddit

Closest thing we’ll probably get to a MBA from Black Collar Arms. Looks awesome!

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NopeNotRightNow@reddit (OP)

Thanks man. Had to look up thr MBA that's the first I've heard of it. It does seem to be a rather similar thing lol

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Next_Ad3398@reddit

I actually have had a pre order for one for 3 years. Need to contact them and ask for my money back because I don’t think it’s gonna get made at this rate, he used to post about it all the time on Instagram and they haven’t mentioned it all in 2 years lol.

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NopeNotRightNow@reddit (OP)

Not quite yet, but soon

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crafty_waffle@reddit

This would be pretty sick with a short barrel in .300 BLK.

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NopeNotRightNow@reddit (OP)

I do think that would be the ideally practical setup for it

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Royal-Campaign1426@reddit

Gives me HK vibes

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Dave_A_Computer@reddit

Bitchin